This meme first appeared on Reddit in February 2015. One of the top comments by user OrthoMD does a fairly good job of debunking this photo.

When we do hip replacements we cut off nowhere near that much bone (google “total hip replacement” and you will see what I mean), and in the VERY rare case we do it’s as a result of this portion of bone being devastated by infection, fracture or tumor, in which case there would be no intact bone left to stick onto the end of your cane. As a scientist I normally advocate cautious inquisition but my bullshit meter is running particularly high with this one so had to call it out.

EDIT;Also for those that are interested, and as many have pointed out, patients in most countries are not offered the option to retain their resected bone, for the reason that the centre will have to certify that the bone has be sterilized, otherwise it would be a bio-hazard. Sterilizing bone is a relatively arduous process so as to retain the anatomy without destroying structure. It’s also requires somewhat specialized techniques which really only cadaver labs employ. It’s far simpler and (legally speaking safer) for most places to have a blanket policy of not allowing you to have it, rather than risk someone becoming infected as a result, and leaving themselves open to certain litigation.

A search for total hip replacement does confirm what OrthoMD states, the bone is not cutoff that low on the hip.